Sonny Bill Williams & Liam Messam Named In NZ Sevens Team

All Blacks Sonny Bill Williams and Liam Messam have been named in the New Zealand sevens squad for next year's world series and Olympic Games in Rio de Janeiro.

Chiefs players Williams and Messam, who has had previous experience at the short form of the game, will bolster the squad significantly, with a gold medal the big aim.

Hurricanes player Ardie Savea was also named in the squad, which will be captained by Scott Curry after previous skipper DJ Forbes stepped down.

Exciting Blues loose forward Akira Ioane, and his brother Rieko, have also been named.
Williams, Messam, Savea and Akira Ioane, along with Auckland's Ben Lam, are new faces in the squad from last season.

Tietjens said he was excited to have Williams and Messam commit to sevens.

"We know what Liam can do and he will certainly give us some new options up front. He's a hugely experienced sevens player having won two Commonwealth Games gold medals and been part of Sevens World Series winning New Zealand teams.

"Sonny Bill Williams is a great athlete and has shown he can adapt very easily to the demands of rugby. I see him adjusting very well to the fast pace of sevens. He'll be a great attacking weapon with his speed, strength and uncanny ability to offload. "We're really pleased he's committed to the full season. He knows competition for places will be intense so he's giving himself the best chance of making the team for Rio."

Other Super Rugby players selected will be available for the Wellington and Sydney sevens tournaments. They will then return to their Super Rugby teams through to Week 10 and be available for the remaining two tournaments of the World Series in Paris and London.

Tietjens said the initial training squad will form the basis of the teams to be selected for the new season. More players would be added later this year.

He said he was pleased Curry had accepted the new role.

"He has big shoes to fill as DJ has been an outstanding leader. We've always been impressed with Scott's maturity on and off the field. He led the team well last season in Las Vegas when DJ was injured and is well equipped to handle the demands of the job. He's a great player, experienced and very skilled."

"Scott will be leading a core of very experienced players who have served the team well in the past few years. It's also really pleasing to have some recent All Blacks Sevens players on board again. Akira Ioane, Ben Lam and Ardie Savea made big impacts in their time with the team and we welcome them back.

All Blacks sevens squad:
Dylan Collier (Waikato) 
Scott Curry (Bay of Plenty)
Sam Dickson (Canterbury)
DJ Forbes (Counties Manukau)
Gillies Kaka (Hawke's Bay)
Akira Ioane (Auckland) 
Rieko Ioane (Auckland) 
Ben Lam (Auckland) 
Liam Messam (Waikato)
Tim Mikkelson (Waikato)
Ardie Savea (Wellington) 
Sherwin Stowers (Counties Manukau)
Sam Vaka (Counties Manukau)
Beaudein Waaka (Taranaki)
Joe Webber (Waikato) 
Sonny Bill Williams* (Counties Manukau)

NZHerald